Tah is a ten-year old boy who lives with his parents and three siblings in Burma. Tah’s family has lived in Burma for their whole lives, living on a small farm where they grow food for their own consumption. His father, U Kyaw Poe, is the only member of the family who earns an income and works as works as an agricultural day labourer.
Of his three siblings, Tah is the only one who attends school. He is currently enrolled in third grade, and enjoys his studies very much. His siblings do not attend school, but rather help their mother with farm work and occasionally accompany their father to his job as an agricultural day labourer.
On May 18th, Tah was riding in the back of a vehicle transporting a large water jug through his village when the vehicle hit a bump and Tah tumbled out onto the road. The heavy jug of water that had been in the back of the truck also fell out, landing on top of him. He sustained a serious shoulder injury as a result of the incident, and when the pain did not subside in a matter of days his father decided to travel to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) to seek medical treatment.
Tah and his father had to walk a few hours out of their village in order to catch a car that would take them to Mae Sot. The journey by car then took between 3 and 4 hours, When they arrived at MTC, clinic staff performed an x-ray of Tah’s shoulder, which revealed that it had been broken in two places. The trauma unit at MTC then referred Tah to Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) in order to receive support for the reparative surgery he will need.
Currently, Tah is unable to move his injured arm whatsoever. He is in severe pain at all times, and has had to miss school in order to travel to MTC for treatment. Before his accident, Tah loved to play soccer with his friends and brothers, but he can no longer enjoy this pastime due to his injury.
His father wants him to be able to return to school and get a good education so that he can have a career more fulfilling than working as physical labourer.
“I want to feel better and return to school without pain,” Tah said.